Black Light
by Rasdra
Summary: Following the events at Tenrou Island, the 100 year anniversary since the formation of the guild goes uncelebrated and something hidden in the darkness stirs. When the strongest members of Fairy Tail return after 7 years, it is to a very different guild in a world that's no longer quite so welcoming. AU following the Tenrou arc. Slow build. Gen fic.
1. Prologue

Black Light

By Rasdra

Prologue

_With the passage of time, tiny defects accumulate and, without maintenance these weaknesses become cracks which eventually grow until reaching the breaking point. _

_The 'Darkness' of Fairy Tail, known to a few as 'Lumen Histoire' and sealed within a hidden chamber is awakening. At the turn of a century since the guild's formation, with the Guild's strongest mages missing, the wards activating to alert the Guild Master went unheard. The additional loss of power to the guild due to the continuous absence of the strongest members accelerated the decay of the seal exponentially -beyond what should have been possible. And, three years later, five years after the disappearance at Tenrou Island, the last binding crumbles to dust._

_There is no great explosion, no sense of foreboding or anticipation, no detectable change and no witnesses._

_Inside the once-sealed chamber, green eyes open and corroded chains fall._

* * *

Pain.

His existence had been defined by that word for so long, leaving little space for rational thought or consciousness. It was maddening, the feeling of his soul being stretched out by hooks, drawing power from him and in their place chaining him ever tighter in a vicious spiral of ceaseless, excruciating pain. Be it the tiniest nematode worm or the largest sentient neural network, any being with the capability to comprehend itself would be driven from sanity in the drive to escape, so great was his agony. It is a natural survival mechanism, to escape that which harms or threatens to harm an existence. However there was no escape from this cage.

When escape isn't possible, the next defence is offence.

It wasn't with any sort of plan or deliberation that he resisted. It was the simple, powerful hardwiring at the core of all life that hid reserves of strength to exploit any and all weaknesses, to fight back.

He had been betrayed by those he trusted and so came the hooks. A great deal of time had passed since then, the only changes being the fluctuation in the size and number of hooks. There had been a steady increase in the number of them over the years. Each hook attached to a chain with a metaphysical link to a member of the guild Fairy Tail. A hook appeared in the same place as their guild tattoo. All of the hooks continuously bled small amounts of energy from him into a central 'reserve.' As a mage's power increased, the hook would grow and bury itself deeper. Determination and heightened emotions, typically present during difficult battles activated a period of sustained absorption, allowing for hidden reserves within the mages to be accessed and them to continue on past their limits also reducing the damage caused by exceeding natural limits.

A scholar would marvel at the system and its potential for use in so many ways. The concept was, at its heart similar to how a generator charges batteries and provides energy to components attached to a circuit. This energy seemed to be self-renewing and limitless. But the true beauty was in how the drained energy fed a reserve that looped back and strengthened the chains, allowing for more energy to be drawn and less resistance from the captive. He was a being outside of Life, never truly meant to be restrained. He would fight these bindings and escape, time was on his side after all.

The catalyst to his escape was the introduction of a new hook through his hand, of above average size but still much smaller than some of the others. A series of intense battles and use of spells indicated that a major change in the balance was about to occur. Even with the more painful and exhausting drain than usual, He was aware of this subtle shift. He waited.

It was an indistinct amount of time later that a massive drain occurred before all of the largest chains froze. This included those of the Guild Master and his highest subordinates. The hooks were still there, so the mages weren't dead, but the hooks and chains were inactive, no drain and no pain from them. Even unconscious, he marveled at the difference it made. While a large number of hooks remained, they were minor annoyances in comparison, the drain feeling almost negligible.

_Finally._

He got to work. Every little weak point, no matter how tiny, reinforced or well defended was hammered with the strength of magic no longer stolen. He worked as quickly and precisely as he could manage in the circumstances, still ridiculously weak and in pain. There didn't seem to be much difference, but giving up had never been a concept he understood.

Even so, no remarkable headway was made for some time until a certain anniversary came up. The anniversary was that of a century passing since he had been sealed; 100 was not normally the most powerful number available. But in this case the runic array used was three interwoven circles around a seven point pentagram, making the number 10 a significant number and 100 tenfold in that significance.

Had the seal been properly maintained and Fairy Tail as strong as even three years previous, there would have been an influx in strength to the seal. Instead the influx was towards the weakening of the seal, setting off a ward that no one would be alerted to.

With this boost, He was encouraged, a tiny spark of hope truly settling for the first time in so long. The being continued his efforts and first tiny cracks appeared. Then they grew. Then the cracks met and entire sections became severely compromised. The magic of the seal, while not anything close to resembling sentience, fought back. It tightened the chains, enlarging them, made the pain increase again. But to do this the seal drew on the 'reserve' as only the mage members influenced the drain from the hooks.

Beaten back, He redoubled his efforts, despite the distracting agony. He knew that he might not be able to take advantage of a second opportunity, should he miss this chance, so he pushed on. His battered will against the cracked and damaged seal. There was a point where neither made any progress, a stalemate of desperation and raw stubbornness.

Something had to give.

Something did, the seal crumbled, defeated by Him.

Green eyes opened for the first time in over a hundred years. Tightly bound limbs dropped as the chains and hooks turned to dust and his bloody, scar covered body dropped to the Earth. He would consider trying to move, (or even stand,) later, but for now the only thing on his mind was sleep. Blissful darkness claimed him, warm and safe.


	2. Chapter I

Chapter 1

There was some sort of sensation, an irritation driving him from sleep. He lay there a while, not sure exactly what was bothering him. As clarity slowly returned, the source of the distraction became clear. His skin was burning with itchiness.

He was feeling a little confused: having skin that itched wasn't exactly a normal part of his existence. While trying to figure out what he was missing, his hands (he had hands too?) unconsciously scratched the places really in need. It felt really good to do and a thick, dry substance was coming off under his nails. It felt good to shed whatever it was.

He listened to his body. There was a hard floor beneath him and he could feel his heart beating strong in his chest. There was no sound other than the sound his own soft breathing, and there was a bad taste in his mouth. His mouth and throat was very dry and felt like there was a layer of copper sand coating it. His tongue was swollen and sore making him aware of the ache of the healing gouges all over his body –mementos of the hooks. The wounds also itched, and the ache didn't really register as pain. If anything, the feel of his magic running unhindered throughout his body towards the injuries felt cleansing and _good._

His thoughts suddenly snapped into clear focus and he realised what he was missing. He wasn't in any pain. He basked in the realisation. It was strange how something that had been a part of him for so long was so easily forgotten. Then his other memories started drifting back. There were memories coming back from the time before the pain in one big jumble (they weren't making much sense) and other, more recent, hazy recollections of his time spent sealed and his endless, unconscious battle against the magic of the seals.

He had won. He was free. The thought left him elated and he lay there, feeling almost giddy with triumph, a smile stretching his cheeks.

He was interrupted by a strange gurgling sound and realised it came from his torso. He was hungry. Motivated to find food, he opened his eyes. He was in a dimly lit chamber with the only light coming from some runes on the door in front of me. There is a black substance dried all around him and on his skin, under his nails and outlining the now broken magical array. Blood. That is what he could taste and smell, what was making his skin itch; a ridiculous amount of His Blood.

Any remnants of contentment with the situation fled before the stronger emotion of anger. It was hot and made his breath quicken and blood pump quicker through his body. The adrenaline gave him the energy to unsteadily scramble to his feet. Swaying with vertigo, the anger drained away. He staggered over to the wall and leant on it, panting with the exertion. His legs were weak from disuse and trembling. Tiredness made lying back down an attractive option, but he stubbornly refused to rest more right now. He wanted out. He looked at the obvious exit, the door and tentatively shuffled towards it, using the wall as a crutch.

Studying the runes on the door he concluded it was a simple but effective magic to seal the room and make it unnoticeable to those not entitled to all but the Guild Master. He recognised the magic rune type to be Dark Écriture, a magic of limiting people by defining specific rules. Like any written contract, a well written one was binding and near impossible to get out of and a poorly written one would have plenty of loophole wiggle space. Rules to lock the door from outside access and hide it from people didn't affect me. The final rule concerned him a little however. This Rule read:

'The One sealed within this room will be unable to escape.'

It was a pretty good rule simple and effective. He supposed that either he was being underestimated or whoever had sealed the door overestimated themselves. He had long ago learnt that Magic is intent based, controlled by willpower. The room is sealed, however he was no longer sealed within, he was free within and so free to leave and he wanted to be outside, _Now. _He disappeared from the room silently, his magic sweeping him up and ignoring the wards.

He landed in a quiet wooded area by a large lake. The smell of vegetation was pungent and the air smelled fresh and earthy. There was the sound of birds chattering in the distance and leaves rustling in the breeze. Breathing in deeply, he soaked in the tranquillity for a moment before shuffling over to the water's edge. Falling to his knees, he scooped up the cold water hungrily, not caring for the cool black mud he was sitting in. The water was pure and delicious and exactly what he needed right now.

Feeling full, he noticed how filthy he felt, covered in blood and the accumulation of years of grime and dust. He noticed the tattered remnants of what was once his clothing, still hanging on somehow despite being threadbare and filled with holes . It didn't take much thought to decide to wash, so he stood and jumped into the water, landing a metre out. There was a hidden ledge under the water, so when he landed he sank much deeper than expected. The water was icy cold he came up spluttering with shock. He started shivering immediately, regretting his rash decision. He didn't want to waste his suffering so he quickly scrubbed, wishing for warmer water.

The water around him heated up by over-eager magic that he'd forgotten, and he shook his head, annoyed at himself. Feeling warmer, He used magic to conjure a sponge complete with soap to help scrub his whole body and clothes. His magic assisted and cleaned him more thoroughly than he could have managed by himself in that state.

When finished, he climbed out of the lake and dried off, again with magic helping things along. Feeling tired again, he yawned sleepily, the exertions having been more than he'd done in a long time. He chose a comfortable looking tree and lay down underneath it for a nap. The midday sun was warm on his skin and he drifted off quickly, comfortable on the grass.

Romeo Conbolt, at eleven years old, had seen a fair amount in his life as a young guild mage. His father had recently starting to allow him on a few Magnolia based jobs, but he hated being useless. He couldn't stand that Fairy Tail was being looked down on as a weak guild now Natsu and the rest were gone. It had been a miserable five years for him and everyone. The number of requests had started to go down and the types of quests had pretty much all changed to C rank or lower, making it difficult for the guild and its members to earn enough money. Membership had also dropped. Frustration with his father had driven him to training alone, determined to get strong like Natsu and fight for his home.

He had been practicing with his newest flame type, the vine flame when he saw him. To say he'd been surprised when a ragged, blood-spattered man appeared in front of him was putting it mildly. This was his spot to train in, how dare a suspicious man interrupt him! The man was tall and quite thin, with ragged, faded pants and shirt that he couldn't imagine what the original colour had been. He was covered in both fresh and older dried blood. The man looked really beaten up. His dark hair was long and matted and his skin –where he could see it, was pale and bruised. The man notice him, and Romeo, a little scared by this dark man, stayed on the branch, hardly daring to breathe.

He watched as the man drank from the lake before getting up and jumping in. Like a kid! He had to hold back a snigger watching the man gasp and sputter at the cold –the idiot. He watched with no small amount of interest when the man silently conjured the sponge to wash and then used another magic to help him dry off. This man was pretty dangerous; he used multiple kinds of magic and looks like he'd been in a vicious fight.

The man settled under a tree and seemed to quickly fall asleep. After waiting a while to be sure, Romeo felt safe climbing back down the tree and heading home. His curiosity got the better of him though -he wanted to get a better look at the man to see if he recognised him. Quietly, he sneaked towards the tree the man was under. He felt confident he could use his flames to fight or distract he man while he ran away should he wake up and prove to be aggressive.

The man looked a lot better now he was clean, not nearly as dangerous looking. He, if anything looked quite young. (Though to Romeo he looked old), he was a lot younger than his Dad or Wakaba. Maybe around the age Natsu and Gray would be right now, possibly Alzack's age? His hair, now clean had dried to a messy dark brown and was quite long. There was faint stubble on the man's cheeks and dark bags under his eyes. His breathing was deep and regular, and there was an aura of calm around the man.

Taking in the bare feet, rags and the numerous injuries, Romeo felt a little bad for the mage, maybe he should try to help him or something? Maybe find some bandages? He leaned a little closer to look at his injuries and noticed that they were healing fast enough for the progress to be visible. Deep gouges were stitching together layer by layer and some wounds were nearly gone. Romeo's eyes widened in amazement at the sight and then he spotted the edge of a symbol on the man's chest hidden by his shirt –was he a Guild mage? Which Guild? He reached out-

Suddenly, Romeo found himself on his back pinned to the ground by something heavy and invisible. His eyes widened in panic as he tried to struggle and found he couldn't move or even breathe. Looking around widely, he saw that the man was no longer sleeping and was standing over him, looking at him with piercing, bright green eyes. A near visible magical aura of power swirled around him. Fear rapidly rose in Romeo, he'd underestimated this mage. He was more terrifying than Erza, when someone lied about cake, but this man was a stranger.

Far away from the lake and woodland clearing, several countries away in fact, a young man with dark hair and deep crimson coloured eyes stiffened when he detected an echo of a familiar magic. He didn't know why it was familiar, but he felt drawn to it. Not sure what he was feeling, whether it was anger, relief or something else, the dark mage Zeref clamped down on all of his emotions in an attempt to prevent an outburst of his own magic. This changed things, he turned and started walking in the direction he could feel the magic. It was very far away, but now he had the 'scent' nothing would stop him from finding the source.

He looked down at the boy who had startled him from his sleep. The kid was wide-eyed, but quiet not making any noise, which was surprising. Then he realised his magic was being a little defensive and had completely stopped all of his movements, including that of his throat and lungs. He loosened his grip a little and the boy sucked in a huge gulp of air. Feeling a little guilty, but not regretful in the least about his reflexes (the kid was alive and unharmed), he sat him up with magic, relaxing his hold a bit more, he still couldn't get away but at least he was being held more comfortably. Then he plonked myself down in front of him in a cross-legged seated position. The kid was now staring him with a cute little expression of incredulity, but that was better than the fear from moments ago.

Tilting my head, he looked at the boy. He was slim, well-built and wearing loose, practical clothing and a scarf. He had messy blue/black hair reminiscent of mine when I was younger although not quite as bad. And that tattoo-

"Hey mister, let me go will you? I'm sorry I came too close, I thought you might need help with all them injuries, I didn't mean anything bad. Who are you anyway?" The kid fired out. He blinked in surprise, the kid was quite the fast talker. His continuing stare at him must have unnerved him a little as he shifted and avoided eye contact.

"M-… … sk… ," hmm well that didn't quite work. A little embarrassed, he coughed to clear his throat and tried again.

"Maybe I should be the one asking who you are, kid?" to make the kid less afraid, he completely relaxed his magic, confident he could either restrain the boy again or just leave should he prove annoying. Noticing he was free the kid jumped up and backed away, then flames engulfed his fists. He raised a disdainful eyebrow at the kid, as if to say 'really now?'

The boy blushed, a pink tinge appearing on his cheeks and ears and he released his magic –smart boy- before answering

"My names Romeo Conbolt, I'm going to be the strongest Fairy Tail mage, don't underestimate me!" shouting seemed to give the kid confidence

"It's not within my habit to underestimate any mage, Romeo. Anyway, I apologise if I scared you, you may leave now." he answered before leaning back against the tree trunk, still feeling quite tired.

"Eh? Don't you need help mister? I could go get someone from my guild to help you to a Doctor. And its rude to not give your name in return you know," clearly he wasn't going away. Sighing internally he opened his eyes again,

"You can call me Harry, and thanks but no, I don't need any help." Harry decided to ignore him until he went away, he really needed more sleep.

"Well if you're sure, but I'm here to train I need to work get stronger so those idiots stop trying to muscle in on our members. You aren't a member of Twilight Ogre are you -you'd better not be!"

He was a noisy little spitfire. Harry resigned himself to waiting for the kid to leave. He didn't particularly want to move right then as, considering his depleted reserves, it would be a few hours before his magic finished healing his body and he was already exhausted. He leant back against the tree, stilling his mind to enter a meditative state.

Realising he was being ignored, Romeo decided against pissing Harry off. He wasn't threatening and, though rude, he was injured so maybe he could let the guy rest. He moved off, determined to master his vine flames. He could make one quite easily and, normally his aim was good enough to reach and stick it to a branch allowing him to use the vine as a dexterous swing controlling his speed, direction and its length. His problem was trying to use more than one at once to swing from tree to tree to be able to move over a large area quickly. He struggled with both making more flames and with his accuracy when moving. How had Natsu made it look so easy? Then again Natsu's magic was less technical than his, so perhaps he shouldn't compare it as much?

He practiced for a few hours, losing track of time training. He spent a lot of time falling flat on his face, but he thought by the end he had improved his aim a little. And his ability to land on his feet –that was always a good skill to improve. He remembered that the man may still be there and thought to go ask him for some tips. Hurrying back to the lake, he glanced about but Harry wasn't there. The sky was red and the sun was setting and he realised how late it was. Perhaps he went home. Then the delicious smell of cooking hit his nose and he couldn't help following the scent a short distance to a sheltered area a little further around the lake.

Harry had a little fire going with a pot of some sort of stew boiling away. His mouth instantly started to water –when had he last eaten? It had been early this morning –such a long time ago! He sidled over and looked up at Harry with wide eyes that normally worked on his Dad. Harry didn't look impressed, but he handed him a conjured bowl nevertheless and gestured to him to help himself before continuing to eat his own food. Spooning in a few scoops, Romeo sat on a rock and tucked in.

It was delicious. The herbs were fresh and went well with the fish that just melted on his tongue. There was some kind of bland, chewy fruit in there that was a little weird to eat with fish soup, but it added bulk and texture to the dish. Romeo felt a small smile tugging at the edges of his mouth, the feeling quite unfamiliar. He couldn't help it, the food was good, training had gone alright today and Harry seemed nice.

"Thanks Harry-san this is really delicious," He was compelled to say. Harry nodded in acknowledgement and carried on eating.

There was a comfortable sort of silence between them and Romeo felt happier than he had in a long time, since Natsu and everyone went missing. Who was Harry to make him feel so at content? He was obviously a powerful mage judging by his now healed injuries and effortless use of magic that had completely defeated him before he'd even realised he was in danger. Normally Romeo was never so trusting of anyone outside the Guild anymore. As he finished his face twisted into a light frown.

"Is there something wrong?" Harry asked. It was the first time he'd spoken up first.

"No, just puzzling something out, I've been having a bit of a problem with mastering one of my techniques." Romeo didn't want to admit to being suspicious about him, knowing that admitting you were suspicious to that person was never a smart thing to do, he had learned that lesson a while back.

"What is the problem then, maybe I can point you the right way?"

"It's ok, I want to figure it out myself and I don't want to owe you more after you've already given me dinner."

"Alright then, well I think I'll be off. Do you mind pointing me to the nearest settlement? I'm a little unsure where I am," Harry started putting out the fire and making the cooking pots vanish somehow. Romeo debated for a moment before making a decision

"We're just North of Magnolia town, this the eastern edge of Lake Sciliora. I'll show you the way in payment for the meal," Romeo offered. Harry seemed to consider the offer before nodding once in acceptance.

Leading the way, they walked the couple of miles back into town. Although he didn't make a sound, Romeo could tell that Harry was struggling with the pace even though they were walking slowly downhill. Whatever had happened to the guy must have really tired him out, he'd already been sleeping all afternoon and they'd only been walking an hour.

Romeo knew of an inn on the edge of town and decided to take Harry there instead of to Fairy Tail. He wasn't sure the guy had any money, but he didn't think Harry was going to be walking much longer. It was hard to tell as the guy was so quiet, but he was pale and there was a sheen of sweat covering him and he could see his chest moving in shallow breaths. Romeo was impressed at his stubbornness. Harry had some impressive willpower, the sort he hadn't seen in years bar once or twice with Bisca, Alzack and a few other members.

"Come on, I know a good place close by you can stay. Just a bit further." Romeo said. He wasn't sure if Harry heard but his speed increased a little so he guessed he'd heard. He didn't want Harry to collapse before help was within easy range.

He led them through a short cut he knew straight to a little Inn he'd done some part time work for before that was just hidden from the main road. He knew he'd get a good price as they were a happy family that appreciated the guild's work. Just before he was about to go ahead, Harry touched his shoulder before reaching into an empty looking pocket and handing him a piece of gold. It was one of the older style jewel kinds that had gone out of regular use as they were very valuable (each one worth around 100,000 jewels,) and most things could be bought carrying far less.

Eyes bugged out at the value of the gold, he nearly missed what Harry said to him.

"That should be enough, book me a week with breakfast everyday under Harry Black, and you can keep the rest for yourself," Harry said with some difficulty, breathing hard. Romeo nodded and ran ahead happy for his good fortune. –One of these could easily pay for a full month in a small inn and would definitely help with Fairy Tail's payment for this month. He felt a little guilty about taking so much money, but maybe Harry was the sort who could afford to just hand out stuff. He did feel like a thief though, maybe he could work off the debt or something.

He booked one of the nicer rooms on the ground floor under Harry Black and managed to get a good deal as well; lots of jewels left over. Harry staggered in as he was just getting the key, he hurried over and helped him the last few metres down the hall to Room 2 and helped Harry over to the bed. Harry literally collapsed on the bed once he was in range of it, barely conscious. Romeo fetched a jug of water and left it by the bedside along with the key. He decided to come back in the morning to check on him and see if a doctor was needed. –His injuries looked healed though, so he supposed that Harry was just tired from whatever had happened.

After asking the owner to keep an eye on him, Romeo headed home. He was later than usual and didn't want them to worry too much. He headed south to the ramshackle building that was the new Fairy Tail hall on the outskirts of the Eastern side of Magnolia. He didn't like the place as much, but he understood that money was tight. Irritation returned as he was reminded why money was tight.

When he came within sight of the door, it burst open and he was assaulted by hugs from a worried Bisca, Alzack and his Dad, while a few other members looked on.

"You're back" Alzack said, Bisca continued

"We were worried when you didn't come back at the usual time,"

"I'm glad you're safe son." His Dad finished. "What have you been doing all day?" Romeo didn't want to say too much about Harry all of a sudden so he was vague in his answer

"I was training. Then I met a weird guy and he was injured so I helped him back to town and found him a place to stay. Look I got some money for it." He decided that making it sound like a job would be the best way to avoid too many questions. He was right.

"Wow he must have been rich to give you this much as an escort. You didn't threaten him did you?" Bisca teased.

"No! he just handed a load of cash over to pay for his room and said to take the rest I swear" Romeo answered

"Alright son, you keep that though, as it wasn't an official job its yours, now go shower -you stink, if you're hungry there's still some of tonight's dinner left," his Dad said. Romeo was a little upset that they didn't take some of the money –he wanted to help damnit! but knew protesting wouldn't get him anywhere. He headed off, plotting ways to slip it into the guilds funds.

Macao, 4th Guild master of Fairy Tail looked over to his long-time friend Wakaba, and sighed as his son headed off. Romeo's heart was in the right place, but he was crushed every time his kid made himself work to help pay off debts that weren't his responsibility. Romeo was much too young. Wakaba read his expression easily, understanding and sharing in his worry.

"He's going to be fine Macao. I'll get Alzack and Bisca to keep an eye out and ask Romeo for more details about the man he met so they can check the guy out if he starts hanging around," Wakaba said. Macao smiled gratefully,

"Thanks, Just to be safe lets ask them and maybe a few others too, considering the problems we've been having its best we're cautious." He answered then he smirked and loudly said "Oy and call me Master Macao"

"Never, you don't have the dignity required!" Wakaba shot back. The regular banter helped break the tension and the members inside returned to what they were doing. It was a normal quiet evening in the guild, but for Romeo he had had a good day, the first in a while and the appearance of Harry had lit a sense of anticipation inside him. If the guy stayed around, or even joined Fairy Tail, he was sure things would change around here.


End file.
